MEMORY TEXT: “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:11-12).

The prodigal son had many sins to confess, and he even suggested a punishment for himself—that he didn’t deserve to be a son but was willing to be a servant. But before he could finish telling his sad story, his father had already forgiven him. That’s how ready and willing our heavenly Father is to forgive us when we take the smallest step toward confession.

The experience of this prodigal is the same for all those who return to God. His father freely forgave him; and yet, after that, the young man went on to say, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." Don’t hesitate to acknowledge your sin to God, even though you know that Christ has forgiven you.

When the father embraced his son, it meant, first, "Your sin is all gone, and will never be mentioned again. I will never accuse you of it any more. I will never love you any less. I will never treat you as though you were still an unworthy and untrustworthy person." Christ says He will remember our sins no more.

There is a fable about a man who was appreciated very much but who carried the burden of a secret sin he had committed many years before. He had repented but still had no peace, no sense of God's forgiveness. In his parish was a woman who deeply loved God and who claimed to have visions in which she spoke with Christ and He with her. The priest, however, was skeptical. To test her he said, "The next time you speak with Christ, I want you to ask Him what sin your priest committed while he was in seminary." The woman agreed. A few days later the priest asked, "Well, did Christ visit you in your dreams?"

"Yes, He did," she replied.

"And did you ask Him what sin I committed in seminary?" "Yes."

"Well, what did He say?" "He said, 'I don't remember.'"

This is the wonderful way God treats those who return to Him. He has put their sin so far away that He does not remember it.